Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company

CARNAL IS RESCHEDULED TO TOMORROW! See post before for ticket info. Join us and Cutting Ball Theater for a showcase presentation of a devised work created by artists of Ferocious Lotus. Though this piece was created before the tragedy in Atlanta, this topic and the visibility of AAPI people is so needed right now. All proceeds for the ticket sales will go to a local charity helping to fight against AAPI hate and you have the opportunity to donate at the show as well.

To our friends and neighbors in Oakland’s Chinatown: in a stand against AAPI hate, Compassion in Oakland is providing free chaperones to support elderly Asians. If anyone you know is need of a chaperone or would like to volunteer as a chaperone, you can fill out their form. For chaperones needed within 15 minutes, text (510) 200-8682.

The violence perpetrated against the AAPI community, particularly toward our elders, is unconscionable. The absolute eradication of six Asian women this past week in Atlanta, GA is shocking and unbearable. There is so much pain, grief and fear in our community. But we must speak out. Elders like Pak Ho, Vicha Ratanapakdee, and Noel Quintana are our grandfathers and grandmothers. Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jun Kim Grant, Sun Cha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Xiaojie Emily Tan, and Daoyaou Fe...Continue reading

Stop Violence Against AAPI Community - https://mailchi.mp//stop-violence-against-the-aapi-communi

There is FEROCIOUSNESS in numbers - https://mailchi.mp/41939bbc/planning-for-the-future-4808646

Forming a Ferocious Future - Please consider making a tax deductible donation to support our Ferocious future this holiday season! https://mailchi.mp/4d3b78fada56/planning-for-the-future

Ferocious Friday - Our 2020 Update - https://mailchi.mp/fea92d7/ferocious-friday-our-2020-update

Today is Election Day! If you haven’t already, make sure to vote. It’s in our hands to decide our nation’s future! Plus: Anyone interested in helping get out the vote and participating in our democracy can join an all-day phone bank anytime today: https://www.mobilize.us/seedthevote/event/357301/

Please join by signing up here: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSdhFBxIa0VTNi_vS-/viewform

On the occasion of this Juneteenth weekend, we are reminded of the historical impact of June 19 on our own community. Though one is a joyful celebration and the other commemorates a tragedy, the significance of June 19 ties together the Asian American and Black American communities’ journeys for racial equity and justice. June 19, 1982 marks the beginning of a turning point in the modern Asian American civil rights movement, triggered by the violent murder of Vincent Chin by ...Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, two white men, in Detroit. Detroit was, at the time, a hotbed of racial tension; animosity towards Asians and Asian Americans was on the rise due to the decline of the American auto industry to Japanese competitors. After an altercation with Chin and his friends outside of a bar on June 19, Ebens and Nitz followed Chin and bludgeoned him repeatedly with a bat. He was eventually taken to a hospital, where he died four days later. Ebens and Nitz pleaded guilty to manslaughter, negotiated down from second-degree murder charges, and were ultimately fined $3,000 with no jail time. This unsatisfactory verdict ignited new civil rights efforts all over the country and united the Asian American community towards social activism like never before. Roland Hwang, an attorney and activist in the original case, reflected that [the] Vincent Chin case transformed a biracial discussion on race relations into a multiracial one. The death of Vincent Chin catalyzed a movement within the Asian American community that we need to galvanize once again to keep Black lives at the heart of the conversation. With more recent COVID-19 related anti-Asian discrimination taking place, we are reminded that the Asian community in America is still vulnerable to violence and that our proximity to whiteness and white supremacy is arbitrary. We ask our community to reflect on how we can use our unique voices to fight racial injustice and to mobilize within our own families, workplaces and local communities to help address the systemic wounds of our country. (Photo from Asian Americans Advancing Justice https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/) For more information and resources on this seminal moment in Asian American history, we recommend this NBC news article: https://www.nbcnews.com//who-vincent-chin-history-relevanc

Ferocious Lotus stands in solidarity with The Movement for Black Lives and Asian Americans for Black Lives as we honor and celebrate Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger gave federal orders in Galveston, Texas, announcing that all enslaved peoples were now free. This announcement came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation; slavery in all US states was deemed officially illegal with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in December of t...he same year. Juneteenth is a day that honors Black freedom and Black resistance, and centers Black people’s unique contribution to the struggle for justice in the U.S. This Juneteenth is a rare moment for our communities to proclaim in one voice that Black Lives Matter, and that we won’t tolerate anything less than justice for all our people. Right now, uprisings are taking place in all 50 states, and more than two-thirds of Americans agree that police violence is systemic. The Movement for Black Lives is alive and vibrant. And combined with COVID-19 and four years of Trumpism, Black communities are demanding: justice; accountability; a divestment from policing; and an investment in healthy, sustainable communities. Join us on the #SixNineteen mobilization on Juneteenth weekend, June 1921, 2020. Take action in front of the White House, in your community, or at home. www.sixnineteen.com #SixNineteen #DefendBlackLives #BlackLivesMatter #DefundPolice

FEROCIOUS LOTUS FOR BLACK LIVES Read our full statement, including links to resources, here: https://mailchi.mp/7545ec3e10a3/george-floyd Asian Americans must stand with the Black Community....Continue reading

This Fri, join our founding AD emeritus and AD of Theater Mu Lily Tung Crystal on Mu-tini Hour! She'll be hosting a conversation with two of our Bay Area API theater heroes - playwright David Henry Hwang and actor Francis Jue. Join Theater Mu on FB Live Fri at 5p PDT/7p CDT!

Artists across all genres need support more than ever. If you are in a position to help, please consider giving to any of these local organizations. And, of course, if you’d like to support Ferocious Lotus directly, so we can in turn support our artists and their work, please make your contribution here: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/NjU5OQ==

Some thoughts by Brecht on casting

"More white female actors have won Oscars for playing East Asian characters than female actors of actual East Asian descent"

The #GoogleDoodle for January 22 is Chinese American movie star Anna May Wong!